What the Government Should do About Animal Testing

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I scan my keycard and walk through a set of double doors, past the examination rooms and a door labeled organic waste. I walk into a complex and intricate maze of dark hallways. The doors read canine testing, swine feeding lab and primate testing environment. Upon looking into the dark rooms; one can make out the cages that once held chimpanzees. The sole purpose of this area is animal experimentation. This area, one of the most secure on the campus, has a separate dock and security cameras at every turn. I have had the opportunity to work in the animal labs of one of the largest corporations in the world. This discourse is my argument on animal experimentation and why the state should allow animal testing for the sake of humanity but should restrict needless suffering to animals.
I had the opportunity to work in classified animal testing labs and to see the animals. The testing that occurred in these labs is all done with the animal’s health and safety in mind. I however, did sign a secrecy contract and thus am unable to reveal the name of the company or the testing that occurs. Animals in this writing do not include humans but all other species in the kingdom Animalia.
The question occurs on what the state’s policy should be on animal testing? Should complete freedom be given or should animals not be tested on? In this writing, I will argue that the state’s policy should be that researchers be given free reign as long as they advance science. This writing works to propose a policy on animal testing that should be employed by our state. The history and the current opinions will be discussed to give context to the argument. I will explain the policy of utilitarianism and how my personal view is similar to that of a utilitaria...

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...e that animals do have the right to be treated ethically. This is what the three R’s are for. Humans however, need to continue to progress and need to think about the safety of our species. It is for this that an ‘on balance justification’ need be made where humans can maximize the utility and progress of our species.

Works Cited

Notes

DeGrazia, David. "On the Ethics of Animal Research." In Principles of Health Care Research, by David DeGrazia, 689-695. New York: Wiley, 2007.
Hills, Alison. "Do animals have right?" In Chapter 13: Science and Suffering, by Alison Hills, 199-218. Cambridge: Icon, 2005.
Nuffield Council on Bioethics. The Ethics of Research Involving Animals. London: Nuffield Council on Bioethics, 2005.
Wolff, Jonathan. "Ethics and Public Policy." In Chapter1: Scienctific Experiments on Animals, by Jonathan Wolff, 11-36. London: Routledge, 2011.

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